Sweat Flu
by Parker-Star
Summary: One person. One person is all it took to take down 50 members of the crew. One person, one day and one small case of the sniffles. Or... Someone gets the flu and Alara looks after everyone until she gets the flu herself. Ed/Alara
1. Help

**This is my first Orville Fic but hopefully I got the characters all good.**

 **At first I intended this to be a one shot but it turned out it would be too long so enjoy this Alara gets sick Fic.**

 **There's implied Ed/Alara and some fluff but I'm not gonna lie I've enjoyed writing this so much!**

 **Enjoy y'all.**

 **Parker**

'Hey guys has someone put extra plants or something in here?' Gordon remarked, wiping his nose on his jacket which occurred to be an action which his co pilot John could not stand to see.

'Nah not that I know of. If you start feeling worse go down to medical and get it checked out. Better be safe the sorry right?' A small glimpse of concern rolled of Ed's voice as he spoke in the kindest regards to his crew member.

'Yeah, good point. Maybe the doc could give me some anti pollen tablets or something weird like that. I'll go see her in abit.'

Following his remark, Gordon let out the largest sneeze imaginable, so large that it actually made many members of the crew jump in their seats. As he looked around he saw the grimacing faces of Kelly, Ed and Alara, all of which seemed to express a considerable amount of concern as it was highly unusual to get sick on The Orville due to extractor fans, vaccinations and so on.

As the day went on many other people were caught sneezing and sniffling, most of which were either sent down to Claire, who managed to not find anything serious so far, or they were sent to their quarters to sleep off anything that may develop in the long run. Most were given modern painkillers which Claire believed would help fight of any bad strains of a virus which could be looming.

So after a long day in medical and and very long day at work, the crew resided to their quarters feeling a little less healthy than they did in the morning.

The constant beep of the alarm echoed through his quarters as Gordon woke to the largest headache and the stuffiest nose he had ever had, his stomach took back flips as he quickly ran to the bathroom to throw up his lovely meal from last night.

'Oh goddd' he exclaimed as he spent the next 15 minutes heaving into the toilet, he pulled up his communicator and attempted to contact Ed, surprise and worry loomed when he couldn't seem to get hold of his captain. So he tried Kelly; no reply, John; no reply, Bortus; no reply, Claire; no reply. He was beginning to get worried until he finally got an answer from Alara.

'Gordon, let me guess? Heaving over a toilet, headache and blocked nose. You think your gonna have to take the day off?'

'What how did you know?'

'Your the 7th person I've had to call me saying the exact same thing. Think it must be some sort of virus. I'm gonna land the ship somewhere safe, then try and look after you guys just incase it takes a turn for the worst'

'Aww thanks Alara, don't forget to look after me will ya?'

'Haha how could I forget'

As the day went on Alara got more and more calls of sickness and flu like symptoms, the only people on the bridge to not be infected were her and Isaac and in a way she was thankful for the robots help in finding a safe space to land and helping her make dishes of Ed's requested meal of old earth chicken soup and toast.

The first person she visited in the day was Ed and Kelly, being her superior officers she needed to check on them to make sure they were okay. Granted they were asleep and looked pale as a sheet so she left water and antibiotics on both of their bedside tables.

She had managed to chat with John and Gordon long enough to do some tasks like turn on the entertainment system and fetch their comfort wear. Small things which she hoped would make them feel a bit better. Bortus was fine and being looked after by his partner so she managed to slip in and out without having to make much disturbance.

The last person she saw as Claire, she assumed with her being a doctor she would be able to take care of herself. Carelessly, Alara passed through the contamination field with a trolley full of soups, water and various other items. Claire was sat on her bed clutching a sickness bowl which, luckily for her, emptied itself automatically when full.

'Ah Alara, I was meaning to see you.'

'Yes Doctor Finn how are you feeling? i was wondering if you knew anything about what was going round and what to treat it with?'

'Ah well, im feeling okay, unfortunately I don't think this is the worst this will be yet. I managed to identify the disease as Alamanis sweat flu. Luckily for us it isn't that much of a problem but Alara as I'm sure you know it is known to be a killer to your species'

Upon hearing the name a shiver ran down Alaras spine, she had heard many stories of the unlucky few who managed to contract Alamanis Sweat flu. Luckily for humans they could produce sweat which in turn could aid in getting rid of the disease, unfortunately for Xelayans they did not produce sweat so the disease would start to attack their vital organs and blood cells. Whilst very unlikely to contract it and there being a 50% chance of death after contraction it was still a worry present on her mind.

'Don't worry about it Doctor, I should be fine. My immune system is really good in human oxygen and if anything bad happens I can trust you guys to look after me'

'As long as you don't get too exposed to the disease you should be okay I think. How many people have you seen today? I suggest you stop after me and let Issac or someone else do the work'

'Ohhh ermmmm' Alara scratched her head knowing Claire would frustrated 'I've seen about 25 people so far. I don't want to risk any others getting it so I guess I've been playing doctor for the day'

'Alara! Do you realise how much risk you've put yourself in. Even if you didn't know it was the sweat flu, you must know the dangers of what would happen when you contract the normal flu!'

'I do know the dangers! I'm just... I guess I'm just worried that technically I'm in charge and I should be looking after everyone, if anything bad happened I wouldn't forgive myself!'

At that precise moment Alara began to feel something trickling down her nose, instinctively she wiped it with her hand only to find a smudge of red had been left on it.

'Oh for hells sake' she exclaimed as she grabbed some tissues and pushed them up her nose.

Concern grew in Claire's eyes and as she was about to rant on about dangers and illness Alara cut her off by saying

'It's just stress, honestly! Nothing to worry about. I'll pop by later'

Quickly she manoeuvred herself out the room standing against the wall outside to maintain her balance. Maybe she wasn't alright? Maybe she has contracted the sweat flu?

As the hours passed she started to feel worse. Her head pounded as she made her way to the next rooms handing out food and water. After a good half an hour of going round to everyone that needed her she decided to go check up on her friends. She found herself drawn to Ed's room, well if she was honest not his room but Ed himself. He seemed to be the only guy she felt comfortable to be herself around. With most other men she would hide her strength and cover her ears with her hair (her ears being a distinguishing feature which she hated). With Ed he would brush her hair behind her ears and ask to open and close literal jars of pickles as well as metaphorical ones. She knew that in human culture an age gap was a significant blockade to many relationships however it didn't really bother her, obviously it probably bothered Ed which in turn ended up bothering Alara as she stood outside his room with water and a smiling face at the ready.

Ed Mercer was sat up right on his bed, the colour of his face looking like a mixture of white, green and red. Black bags dragged under his blood shot eyes as beads of sweat silently dripped from his forehead onto his cheeks.

'Oh Ed, you look terrible, sorry I didn't mean that in an mean way but wow. How are you feeling?'

Ed laughed off the kind but harsh comment replying with

'Yeah you don't look to good yourself Alara, but I do feel a lot like shit.'

'Well your in luck captain because I have your favourite old Earth soup and water for you to drink. Also if you want I can get a wet towel and try cool down your forehead?'

'Ah Alara that sounds perfect'

A small schoolboy like grin appeared on his face as he watched Alara go into nurse mode and sort out all the items he needed. 5 minutes later Alara was sat against the headboard with Ed leaning on her as she dabbed his head with a cold towel. Neither spoke but just decided to enjoy each others company instead. As her feelings for him grew she knew she needed to distance herself and make sure the relationship is completely platonic however she couldn't fight the comforting feeling of having Ed by her side.

As time passed they both chatted about pasts, childhoods, jobs, relationships and so on and with each conversation both Ed and Alara started to learn a little but more about eachother. She loved to hear his smooth voice and decided to just listen to his voice and let him speak. Unfortunately as each conversation passed Alaras headache started to also increase and she once again felt the blood falling down her nose. She ran to his bathroom and their current conversation about old Earth movies was cut off.

'Alara you okay?'

'Yeah yeah don't worry, just stress. I guess I should be going to check up on the others'

'Make sure you get some rest, don't want our resident doctor coming down with the flu!'

He winked at her and she laughed off his cheeky comment.

Ed sadly watched Alara leave, feeling a little less whole as she did, he pondered thinking about his on growing attraction to the female until his thoughts were stopped by an incoming video call from Doctor Finn.

'Captain Mercer how are you feeling?'

'Eh, yano I don't feel brilliant but I guess I've got a great crew looking after me.'

'Ah well looking at you you seem to be sweating out the worst of it! And speaking about crew, have you seen Alara?'

'Well yes she was just in here having a chat with me, I think it's amazing what she's doing for everyone. She's like our own little Mary Poppins!' Pride rolled of Ed's tongue as he spoke fondly for his crew member.

'Would you mind if asked how she was with you? What did she look like? Was she quiet at all?' Claire subtly

'Erm yeah she looked tired I guess but that's probably to do with the fact she's been going around looking after everyone. She seemed to get quiet as our conversations went on but again i thought she was tired. She did have a nose bleed as she left but she said it was stress. Is there something I'm not knowing?'

'Another nosebleed? Well captain the flu going round is actually quiet deadly to Alara's species and I'm quiet concerned about her wellbeing.'

'Wait. Does she know it's deadly?' Ed enquired.

'Yes'

'Well why is she putting herself at risk?! She should have told me or someone! Jeez.'

Ed was furious, why would she put herself at danger just to treat us, what if she had contracted it. He couldn't loose her.

'Apparently she felt obliged to as she didn't want the virus spreading to any other crew members. However I do believe she was mainly worried about everyone's wellbeing and as it's very unlikely for Xelayans to contract diseases she put herself in charge and got

to work'

A wave of emotions hit Ed as he tried to come in circumstance with the situation, as captain it was his duty to look after his crew and ensure their safety. Gosh if he could move and send her too bed he would but his muscles were so weak he didn't even have the strength to lift his communicator.

'Doctor, do you believe this will be gone anytime soon?'

'Well, actually I'm about to hail Issac to give everyone some special medicine which the med lab has produced, it only works on humans for now but hopefully it should work miracles and if all goes to plan when you wake up in the morning you should feel considerably better and only be grieved with a small headache and a sniffly nose.'

'That's fantastic. Would you mind telling Isaac to send Alara to bed when you hail him?'

A small smile appeared of Claires face, she knew that in all matter of fact Ed Mercer had feelings for Alara, she even believed Kelly knew. She'd seen the way he looks at her and if Alara could blush she would.

'Of course Captain. Get some rest'

'You too. And erm well thank you I guess. For looking after us.'

'You should thank Isaac and Alara instead'

The call was disconnected and Ed was left alone worrying about the health of Alara Kitan. The strongest but most goddamn stupid member of his crew for putting her life at risk over some bloody flu, he was so annoyed yet slightly privileged to have such a dedicated person on his team at such a young age.

As Alara left Kelly's room after listening to her talk about relationships, again, she spotted Issac leaving Doctor Finns quarters.

'Oh Issac, everything okay?'

'Ah Lieutenant Kitan, I have strict orders to send you to bed. So I suggest you go now.'

Issac proceeded to escort Alara to her quarters before she could even get a word in edgeways.

'Erm excuse me Isaac I still need to check on everyone' she explained, breaking away from his grip.

'No need Lieutenant, I have medicine to give to the human crew members so you do not need to work, now rest. You have strict orders from Doctor Finn and Captain Mercer, so in your best interest you need to go rest.'

Opening his arm out Issac escorted Alara to her quarters, leaving her in a state of emotional imbalance.

One part of her brain was actually thankful for the fact that she gets to go to bed, another part was annoyed that she had so much work to do and was leaving Issac to do it alone.

As these thoughts swirled around her headache ridden brain she stumbled to her bed where she practically fell onto the mattress, letting sleep overcome her body in seconds.


	2. Not good

**Hey! I'm back from the dead with an update! It's not the longest thing but it's just a little filler for what's to come!**

 **Enjoy**

 **Parker**

As Alara slowly opened her eyes she saw the piercing light making its way under the door frame. While only a small amount of light, it was still enough to make her eyes flinch and her body turn away. The movement itself was hard to do when the insides of her body felt as if they were being crawled on by millions of heavy footed ants. Adjusting to the light in the room she pulled herself up into a sitting position to check her surroundings. She was definitely in her quarters but something felt wrong, a tingling of the 'I've got a bad feeling about this' was creeping up her neck as she sniffed at the musty smell the greeted her nostrils, the far too familiar smell of dried out blood. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her room until she threw off her covers and looked onto her bed, her once white pillow covers were stained bright red, blood red to be exact. It was like the scene of one of those terrible, old earth horror movies that Ed would love to watch. The realisation that it was her blood staining her sheets hit her in the face like a tone of bricks and Alara moved as quickly as she could have managed to get to the bathroom. Her limbs felt like they were lined with titanium while her head felt as is it was stuffed with cotton. Slowly, she made her way to the full sized mirror which was hung up on her wall, looking at her face was practically the same as looking at a murder scene. Dried blood covered nearly every inch of the bottom of her face while her uniform looked as if she had been shot… again. Then the heat, god it was so hot and in all of her life Alara had never felt so hot before and for a species like hers, the heat could be deadly. Before she could process this new information a wave of nausea overcame her as she dashed to the toilet to spill out a mixture of food and blood, everywhere was swimming and as her vision became blurry she was enveloped in darkness.

Back on the bridge everyone was eventually getting back into their normal morning routines. Ed had woken up to bed sheets that felt like they had been submerged in a bowl of water but other from that, a headache and runny nose he felt fine. As he made his way to the bridge he felt the pressing need to go check up on Alara but his compassionate side took a hold of him and said 'she's probably really tired and doesn't need you pining over her every move' so he walked past her quarters, brushing his hand over the metallic walls which led to her door, feeling quiet guilty with each step.

On the bridge Gordon and John were sat chatting with Kelly and Bortus, while Issac was seen tapping away at the controls stats by his stations.

'Jeez I don't think I've had such a bad head ache in my lifetime' Exclaimed Kelly.

John and Gordon just laughed.

'Never had a hangover then? Because I remember this time when I went to this newly built Las Vegas casino and oh boy there was this chick and...'

'What is this hangover which you speak off? Where do you hang from?' Interrupted Bortus.

The crew looked at each other, amusement riddling their features but before they could explain Ed had entered the room rushed them off to their stations, as he looked around the only person missing in the room seemed to be Alara, who until today had never actually had a day off.

Painful thoughts ran across his mind as he thought of the dreadful situations which she could be in, the pressing words of Claire running around his mind.

'The flu going around is quiet deadly to Alara's species'

Thats what Claire said, deadly to her species, and all from being stupid enough to look after everyone who had the flu that could kill her.

20 minutes passed, still no word from Alara. Panic crept over his features and his gut told him something was wrong. He should check on her right? Considering their day would consist of star planning the logical option was to check on her.

'Kel, have you got this? Ive just gotta go check on something'

'Yeah yeah take your time, youre not missing much!'

His fast paced walk from the bridge to the corridors slowly turned into a jog as made his way down to Alara's quarters, as he ran all he could think about was the possibility that Alara was in pain and that he wasn't there to help her, to tell her it was going to be okay. These thoughts running through his mind he didn't realise that Yaphit was sliding towards him in the hallway and Ed ended up running straight through gelatinous blob.

'Oh shit sorry man' he said with little remorse trying to get away as quickly as possible.

'Hey its no problem dude, just wondering if you wanted me to come and..'

'Sorry dude I need to go' Ed dashed off leaving Yaphit a little upset.

'Oh yeah no bro I get it, totally wasn't gonna talk you or anything'

Ed dashed through hallways taking turn after turn until he stopped dead when he reached Alara's bedroom, franticly punching in the code to get the door to open. As he walked in the first sight that greeted him was stained blood red bed sheets, upon seeing this his heart rate got faster and faster until he felt himself choking on it in his throat.

Shit. Shit. Shit. I knew I should have checked on her this morning.

'A… Alara' His eyes frantically searched for the young girl, darting around the room and noticing every detail like the photos of her and her parents on her dressing table or the large amount of hair ties dotted around. The one place he dared to look was the bathroom, he could already smell the potent wiff of sick and other aromas floating around the room. As he daringly made his way too the en suite, he caught a glimpse of black hair on the floor and his heart dropped.

Oh god. No. Not Alara. Please not Alara.

From then on time started to slow down and he was running towards what seemed to look like a lifeless body, as he got closer and closer he could feel the nausea growing in his throat. Legs buckling, he dropped down by Alara and gently lifted her petite figure into his arms. Every inch of her body was practically covered in blood, Ed could see the faint lines of dried blood that trailed from down her nose, the lines seemed to become more dynamic as they grew thicker and wider until the trail stopped and it was just a pool of red that had dried on the fabric of her uniform. Seeing the slow rise and fall of her chest gave him some sort of relief as he released the breath he didn't know he was holding in. Instinctively he shook her in an attempt to wake her, hands resting on her uniform he could already feel the heat radiating her body.

'Alara! Shit Alara, please wake up, please, please wake up'

This isn't real Its just a sick joke Gordon and John have pulled because I forgot their birthday. She's fine. she's fine.

As if she had read his mind, her eyes started fluttering and Ed was greeted to the dark but bloodshot pools of Alara Kitan's eyes. Immediately she started to cough up thick, black blood and all Ed could do was turn her over and rub small circles in her back so she didn't choke, he practically felt useless as he watched her repeatedly heave until she had no energy left in her body. In the most gentle way possible Ed rolled her back so he could see her face, god she looked terrible but he could dwell on that later. She was alive and thats all that mattered. Looking deeply in her eyes he brushed her hair behind her ears, just embracing each moment that they spent together no matter the situation. For longer than he could remember, he just sat there, cradling her body while she looked into his eyes,

'Ed' She choked out.

'Hey hey hey, shhh shh its okay lovely. Don't worry I'm here now. Lets get you off this cold floor eh?'

He gave Alara 'the smile' as she liked to call it, he remembered about 3 months ago they encountered a small child who was in distress from the loss of his parents, Ed had tried to comfort the young girl and in Alara's words 'you gave her that smile you know, when your feeling someones pain but trying to make them feel okay inside', ever since then he has always thought of that moment when he smiled.

Swiftly but gently he lifted her petite frame from the white tiles and put her into a newly wed hold, her face scrunched in fear and pain at the sudden movement but he kept moving until he reached her bed, then he lay her on the stained sheets, gently resting her head on a pillow.

'There you go. Now, I need to contact Claire but I promise to never leave your side' Ed pulled out his communicator and looked at Alara for approval, slowly she nodded and he took that as the signal to dial Dr Finns number.

'Claire, come to Alara's quarters now. It's really fucking bad.'

Before she could even say a word he shut the communicator and dashed over to her side. He gripped her hand like a vice praying to all the gods in the universe that she would be okay.

Snap out of it Mercer, now what would Claire do in this situation?

Keep her airways open, reassure her, clean her up. Just don't let her die.

'Im just gonna go and get a wet towel and we will try clean you up okay?'

Again she nodded in agreement with little energy and he quickly dashed to the bathroom to wet the white towel which was laying at an angle on the towel rack. When he got back, Ed could see that she was struggling to keep her eyes open, the blood loss alone would be a reason but from what he gathered from the amount of work she was doing yesterday, exhaustion must have been a prime suspect.

As he stroked her hair and reassured her that 'everything is going to be okay' Ed tried to take in all the features of her face that seemed to be different to what they were usually like. For instance her once glowing pale skin was now a pinkish red colour, the beautiful shine that her eyes once possessed was now glossed over with red undertones. Everything about Alara, however small or large the problem, seemed wrong.

Realising he had a dripping wet towel in his hand, Ed started to get to work on wiping off the dried up blood of her face. As gently as he could he started to massage the stained spot, at first she jumped at the touch but started to settle down after more words of reassurance.

There he sat in silence, Ed Mercer, captain of the Orville wiping the blood from the face Alara Kitan ,the young security chief.


	3. Okay

**Bet you thought you'd heard the last of me! Haha so sorry about the wait, college has been mad!**

 **Yeah this is the finally chapter of this story! I hope you've enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it!**

 **Sorry if i seems rushed!**

 **Don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Parker**

Minutes which seemed like literal hours seemed to pass as Ed cradled Alara's petite frame across his lap. How his heart begged for her to just wake up and tell him it was all a joke. Just as he was starting to become anxious with worry the familiar sound of the automatic door opening greeted his ears.

'Captain Mercer? Where are you?' Claires voice sharply cut through the air filling him with relief and joy knowing he would finally be able to help for Alara.

'In the bathroom' He called out, attempting to keep his voice as calm as possible to reassure not only Alara but himself.

As Claire walked in it was obvious from her features that she hadn't fully recovered from the flu herself, her pale skin and blood shot eyes seemed to be a distinctive factor which Ed notices as soon as she entered the room.

Claire assessed the situation, using her professionalism as a mask to hide the worry that was evidently showing. In all honestly, she really liked Alara, though at first she did believe her age would be a risk factor to the crew she showed great potential as a leader and a friend. As she kneeled down on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor she looked at the alarming scene she was faced with. In front of her was her usually calm captain looking alarmed while cuddling the young security chief. Without a word Claire began to check over Alara, pulling out gadget after gadget and scanning every inch of her body praying to whatever god there was in this universe that Alara did not have the flu.

'Just what I expected, she's got the flu' Said Claire in a half sigh.

'Oh god, this is bad? What can we do?' Ed was trying his best to keep his cool but from the look in eyes, Claire could tell that he was starting to become emotional and anxious. In all the time of knowing Ed as a leader and a captain he never became flustered of worried, even in situations where the whole ship and his friends were in danger he never seemed to bat an eyelid. Seeing him looking so worried was so unnatural and it actually made Claires heart rate rise.

Rubbing her hair out of her sweat covered face, Claire ran through the options. Alara could not sweat out the dangerous fluids that had accumulated in her body and because of this the fluids were building up and due to the lack of space, they were crushing her organs causing her to loose significant amounts of blood from anywhere it can escape too.

'What's happening to Alara is complicated Captiain.'

'What sort of complicated?'

'The easiest way to put it is that Alaras body is like a balloon full of water, when you squeeze it the pressure builds and the water tries to escape, eventually it bursts in a specific area and the water comes out. That's what's happening in Alaras body. The pressure is causing all the blood you see to drastically come out of her nose. I think the 2 main options we have is to either try and drain the fluids that have built up in her body or give her a developing drug that may not work. I think you know which is the best option captain.'

'Will it hurt?'

'Im not going to lie to you sir, yes. Its going to really hurt but if this is not done she will probably die.'

Ed brushed a strand of hair out of Alara's face and tucked it behind her ear, while still covered in blood she looked as peaceful as an unconscious person can be.

'It'll be difficult to move her far but we should get her to her bed so she's comfortable. I have all the equipment I need right now so we just need to get her in the bed. Need any help?'

While Ed was a fully developed male, he wasn't happy to admit that he was not as physically fit as he would like to be. Still, he just managed to lift Alara onto her bed without hurting his arms and getting too out of breath. Claire pulled out an empty IV bag and hung it on the top of the bed frame, then she pulled out tubing and a needle the size and width of her hand and gently slid it into a vein in Alara's hand. At the sight of the needle piercing her skin the colour from Eds face dropped and a green parlour washed over him, he felt the compelling need to either get a glass of water and sit down or spill his guts over the floor. He chose the former option.

The overwhelming pour of emotions bought tears to his eyes. So many questions. What if Alara died? How would her parents forgive him? How would he forgive himself? As the ships captain he was supposed to ensure that every member of his crew was looked after well enough to ensure that they come out of each mission unharmed. Alara was harmed and they weren't even on a mission! God how he blamed himself for everything. It was all his fault.

Ed sat there, staring at Alara's limp form for what seemed to be like hours upon hours when in actual fact it was only for 10 minutes.

Claire had finished doing routine checks on Alara. Everything was up in the air at the moment, including her anxiety levels. Alara was one of the strongest people on the ship, both mentally and physically so seeing and treating her in the state she was in was very unnerving. It didn't help with the fact that she was still lying in blood soaked sheet, and while they were dry Claire still had to look twice to ensure that the blood wasn't new.

Slowly but surely the IV bag began to fill up, after it was about half way full Claire decided a course of painkillers may aid in the recovery Alara. She looked over to her captain, who was asleep on the chair next to Alaras bed. While his sleep was fitful she regretted the fact that she would need to wake him to inform him that she would be gone from the room for awhile. She believed his reaction to him waking up to Claire not there would be 'not good' as he would say.

'Captain' She whispered lightly shaking his shoulder.

'Huh? Wha? Claire. Is Alara okay?'

'Yes, she's fine. It seems that the bag is filling up nicely and she should hopefully recover soon enough. I'm going to get her some painkillers so she can wake up comfortably.'

'Ahh okay, enjoy.' He gave a fake smile, all he wanted to do was comfort Alara. Tell her it was going to be okay. But he couldn't, especially while Claire was in the room, maybe with her gone he could hug her? Lie with her?

As soon as she left, Ed lay by Alara, stroking her hair and pulling his body close to hers to provide enough for the both of them.

'Yano you really gave me a scare Miss Kitan. I thought I was going to loose you! You and your selfless methods in helping people really do put me on edge.' He laughed to himself gently, the affection for his security chief was evidently shown in his facial expressions, it was just a shame she couldn't see them. So many feelings had been bubbling inside of him and in a way it was much easier for him to talk to Alara unconscious rather conscious. He did not want to risk being punched by her.

'I... I guess you could say I love you really. Everything you do for me, god you've saved my life so many times and when it comes to you, I would do anything to save you. I remember the day you got shot on that wreck of a ship and we found half dead on a hill. I don't think I'd ever been so scared until today. But everything you did that day, you did it to save people. You saved kelly. Kelly who I thought I loved when really... it was you. So you better wake up soon so I can declare my love to you in a much more awkward and weird way.' Ed's pulse was racing as she lay there eyes shut.

'I think the way you did it was just fine.'

The flickering of Alaras eyelids was the greatest thing he'd ever seen in his life. A small smile had become present on her features. Her voice was quiet and reserved compared to her usual confident manner.

'Alara! Oh my stars I can't believe it!'

'I feel like I've been hit with a truck.' She exclaimed.

'I bet you do, you nearly died! Again! You've got to promise me this isn't going to become a habit if yours.'

'Ha, I promise captain. What happened?'

'You were being an idiot and caught a very contagious flu by helping everyone on this ship get better. Girl you need to learn self preservation.' Ed felt good to be joking again, he missed their causal banter.

'Learn self preservation when it's my job to ensure that everyone on this ship is safe? Captian do you understand my job?'

She joked as she suddenly became really tired really quickly.

'Hey Ed?'

'Yeah?'

'I'm tired, will you hold me?'

'Of course'

Ed shuffled over to Alara, radiating heat onto her body which circumstantially made her bury herself into his features.

'Hey Ed?'

'Yes Alara?'

'I love you too'

30 minutes later, Claire enters the room about to rant about how useless her staff are until she sees her Captain and Security Cheif snuggled up together.

'Yeah' she thought. 'Things are gonna be just okay round here.'


End file.
